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Quote by William Finnegan

“Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing, and many Hawaiians or part-Hawaiians surf, but in the rest of the United States it's a pretty white sport.”

Quote by William Finnegan

Author

William Finnegan

William Finnegan, born in 1952, is an accomplished American writer known for his in-depth investigative reporting and profound insights into social phenomena. His works are characterized by their focus on political, social, and moral issues, showcasing exceptional narrative skills and critical thinking. more

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“There are big surfing communities in every country with an ocean coast that I know in Central and South America. Same with Mexico, Bali, and nearly every island nation that gets waves in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. But that's a relatively recent development in most places.”

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“I remember surfing in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, even Madeira, when local fishermen had never seen a surfboard before, and refused to believe that we could ride a wave on one.”

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“Rich white people show up in a poor country to pursue their leisure-time fun, get served by black and brown people, and live in relative - or absolute - comfort. In the water, that situation can get turned on its head, though. Local kids learn to surf, know the breaks, and take most or all of the best waves, fuming turistas be damned.”

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Author:William Finnegan

“Poor-country surf communities can be complex and, to some extent, leveling. The fisherman's kid is competing head to head with the plutocrat's gilded son. Your father can't buy you a good frontside hack.”

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Author:William Finnegan

“It's so much harder than it looks - to conjure a fictional world that some passing wolf of skepticism can't just blow down in one breath.”

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“I always wanted to write. While I was on a long surf trip, supporting myself with various day jobs, I was working hard on a novel. My third novel, in fact.”

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Author:William Finnegan

“I'm trying to find out what's actually true, which is nearly always something, if not a world of things, that you can't read in books.”

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“The differences between the received wisdom, the standard version of events, and the facts on the ground may be subtle or they may be stark, even profound.”

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“I need to conduct myself differently in different communities. In my experience, the journalistic conventions - you know, I'm the reporter, you're the subject, the interviewee - actually tend to hold steady much more consistently in rural Africa than they do in the American inner city.”

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“Speaking generally, I think it's useful to acknowledge explicitly the power imbalance between a journalist and the protagonists in a story about poor people, even to make that imbalance part of the story - and to redress it, narratively, where you can.”

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Author:William Finnegan